Celtics were never in running for Kevin Love

The lack of quality assets prevented the Celtics from making a deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves in order to obtain All-Star forward Kevin Love, who is headed to the Cleveland Cavaliers to join forces with LeBron James.

He made the rounds in Boston on the weekend of May 31-June 1 and speculation soon spread in rapid fashion.

Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star forward Kevin Love was posing for pictures around the city and spent a Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park watching the Red Sox defeat the Tampa Bay Rays.

There was even a photo of Love shaking hands with Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo at the game.

Could it be that the Celtics, just one year into a rebuilding project, were going to land a very big piece of their puzzle?

Was Love, who becomes a free agent in the summer of 2015, going to follow the path taken by Kevin Garnett seven years earlier and be traded from the Timberwolves to the Celtics?

Hope was everywhere as the Celtics, fresh off a 25-57 season and with many needs, seemed to be in the running to add the 25-year-old Love to the mix.

As it turns out, though, that was all just a dream, no more than wild speculation.

Love was never coming to Boston, not for anything more than a spring visit to the city.

Unlike 2007 when the Celtics had a legitimate asset to trade in rising star Al Jefferson to get Garnett, there was no magnificent chip to offer the Timberwolves this time around.

So Love, who has averaged 19.2 points and 12.2 rebounds in 364 games, will be leaving Minnesota later this month to join LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers after a deal was finally completed this week.

The Timberwolves will be getting back the No. 1 pick from the past two drafts in Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett plus a first-round selection for Love, who made it clear he was not going to re-sign with Minnesota.

An amazing summer for basketball fans in Cleveland is getting only better now that Love will be joining forces with James, who is returning home after four years in Miami.

The Celtics? They are looking squarely at a second straight trip to the NBA Draft Lottery next May instead of moving back into the playoff picture with a Rondo-Love pairing.

The quick fix that Love would have offered has disappeared and the Celtics are back to square one.

Instead of making a big splash this offseason, the Celtics have drafted first-rounders Marcus Smart and James Young, signed Evan Turner, re-signed Avery Bradley and acquired Marcus Thornton and Tyler Zeller in a trade.

That is hardly going to be enough to get the Celtics back in contention, far from it with James, Love and Kyrie Irving about to rise to the top in the Eastern Conference.

The Celtics are faced with going through more growing pains while hoping their load of future draft picks can pay off and a free agent can be lured next summer when cap space will be available.

Page 2 of 2 - They will also ponder whether to trade Rondo, who is entering the final year of his contract.

The Celtics will no doubt shop Rondo around – again – to see what can be acquired, but he is probably going to be on board at least until the trade deadline in late February to see how things play out.

Getting Love in a Celtics uniform was a long shot, even as he made the rounds in Boston during that spring weekend.

It was a nice dream, but without the right pieces to dangle in a trade, the Celtics had little chance of making it happen.

And now they are being forced to be patient as the rebuilding process heads for Year 2.

Jim Fenton may be reached at jfenton@enterprisenews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JFenton_ent.